07x14 - The Case of the Accosted Accountant

[bunniefuu]

(theme song playing)

B.K., please, it's important.

This is a little too snug
in the shoulders.

- Leslie, don't you think this
is too much? -Please, B.K.,

we have to discuss this.

I don't have to do anything.

Ask Vera to look at my calendar

and set you up
with a half-hour appointment.

- Leslie, these shoulders, do you
think...? -An appointment, eh?

Like the one you had with the
state tax man and didn't keep.

Or the conference with Leo Mann;
he was sitting here,

twiddling his thumbs
for two hours

while you were entertaining
your drinking friends

at the country club.

You're assuming
on our relationship,

-and I won't take it, Ed.
- You'll take whatever's

necessary to make you wake up.

Look, this sleeve.

You, out.

Out.

Now,

it's not enough that you have
been running Vero Plastic

on the verge of bankruptcy
for years

with your dictatorial
one-man policy.

No, you have to go out
and buy a South American plant

for us to expand
our enterprises.

Well, I took an evaluation

of that plant
you paid top dollar for.

I authorized no evaluation.

Well, I did.

When you made me vice president
in charge of business affairs,

whether you liked it or not,
you also gave me some authority.

Enough authority to check
on your irresponsible management

of this company.

Now I know why
I never liked accountants.

Well, you'll like them even less

at the annual stockholders'
meeting next month.

Leslie, can he?

Never mind turning
to your legal protégée for help.

I've already checked with her

on the SEC statuary requirements
for a proxy fight.

A proxy fight?

Yes, a proxy fight.

If it's the last thing I do,

I'm gonna get you
out of this company.

(door opens)

A mind like an adding machine,
the heart of a tiger.

Ed Lewis will make Vero Plastic
a good president.

You talk as though

my son-in-law's
already taken my place.

Oh, he will, never fear.

With help.

Yours?

Well, there is
a certain security

in betting on a horse
that has to win.

So that's the way it is.

It's the way it could be,

but not the way
it's going to be.

Do you think
I'd let you stop now?

Schedule a meeting at the lodge
just as you planned.

Meet Orlando and pay him off.

Oh, I-l don't know, Leslie.

- Suppose Ed were to...
- Suppose, suppose.

Is Ed right?

Are you nothing but a silly,
frightened old man?

All right, I'll take Ed on
if I have to.

But you don't.

I suggest, B.K., that you hire
an outside firm of auditors

to go over
the company books now.

I don't believe it.

Are you saying my son-in-law...?

Now.

Funny,

keep a man busy enough
defending himself

and he doesn't have time
to attack somebody else.

(buzzing)

Ed Lewis may be
your daughter's husband,

but he's also
a power-hungry man,

eaten with ambition.

A dangerous man, B.K.

Oh, Vera.

Be a good secretary.

I know it's still early,
but, uh,

I think your boss needs a drink.

Here we are.

Gertrude's been on that phone
a long time.

She'll be right down, Sylvia.

Not drinking tonight, Walter?

Oh, thanks.

The, um, the old man spoke
to me today.

Told you I declared
a state of w*r, huh?

Well, weren't you
a little hasty, Ed?

Walter, you're vice president
in charge of sales.

No need to tell you how
the company's doing.

You think I was hasty?

If you expect Walter Cord
to commit himself,

don't hold your breath.

To my reckless husband
the word "maybe"

is a daring invitation
to disaster.

B.K. is my friend.

He's also my father-in-law,

but that doesn't make him right
when he's wrong.

Walter, I need your help.

The company needs your help.

We, we founded
the company together,

B.K. and I, years ago.

It just doesn't seem right
to turn against him.

He turned against himself,
against everybody who loved him.

When his wife died,

B.K. changed
and he's been impossible

ever since.

What did you expect?

They loved one another.

He was hurt, he missed her.

Sure.

On the Riviera, in Paris,
in Monte Carlo,

with a collection
of international playgirls

that would have done credit
to a college football team,

let alone one unhappy, old man.

That's over and done with.

Oh, Walter, you are so, so...

Four years ago the company
had three attorneys.

Then B.K. hired Leslie Ross

as a sort of, uh,
glorified law clerk.

Now what?

Now the company
has one attorney-- Leslie Ross.

Walter, surely you're aware

that he's running the company
into the ground,

permitting his offices to be
nothing more than rubber stamps.

Now, that isn't so.

Why, he's turning
the new South American plant

over to me, isn't he?

Of course,
somebody has to take the rap

for that nightmare of a mistake.

Why not Walter Cord?

Good old faithful Walter Cord.

Sure, let him send you
to South America,

bury you there, and he will.

And when that whole crazy thing
goes under, so will you.

I-It just doesn't seem right.

It's disloyal.

Thank you, Walter.

Ed, B.K. is having an early
meeting tomorrow meeting.

I understand that he would like
to have you and Walter there.

I have a terrible headache;
I hope you'll excuse me.

I don't think I can stand
to play any more bridge,

or even company tonight.

Of course, Gertrude.

Good night, sweetheart.

Good night, Ed.

Come along, Walter.

Thank you, Sylvia.

Night, Gert.

It's all right, Ed.

We'll let ourselves out.

See you in the morning, Walter.

Well, now, who was that
on the phone?

Now, it couldn't have been B.K.

You haven't talked to your
father in over three months.

Did you think I wouldn't notice?

I loathe that woman.

I despise her.

Now, wait a minute.

Don't tell me
that Leslie Ross called here.

How dare she call me?

Is she so stupid
that she thinks I don't know

or I don't care
that she's destroying my father?

Well, what did she want?

My promise to vote
my company stock

to B.K. at the annual meeting.

She suggested
that if I had to choose

between my husband
and my father,

I might find it smarter to get

on B.K.'s bandwagon
while I could.

I hoped you wouldn't find out
about that yet.

She took great pains to tell me
that my ambitious husband

was trying to have
my father thrown out

of the company
that he had founded.

I can't figure out
whether she's trying

to drive a wedge between you
and B.K. or you and me.

Ed, that company is all he has.

Are you forgetting Leslie?

If you take the company
away from him, you'll k*ll him.

Baby, I don't understand.

Honestly I don't.

You know what's happening to
him, you know what he's doing,

and yet you still fight
to protect him.

Yes, he's my father.

But don't you understand,
the man is...

I'm sorry, baby.

I have no choice.

Please try to understand.

What?

That you're destroying
my father?

That you might also have
some faith in me.

I'm your husband.

(door opens)

(door closes)

Coffee, Mr. Sutton?

No, thanks, Vera.

If you can tear yourself away
from that fingernail, Arthur,

you might tell us
where your uncle is.

For some time now

my uncle hasn't told me
what he does or why.

Poor neglected nephew.

He doesn't neglect you.

Are you angry with dear,
old B.K., Arthur?

Or just jealous?

- Listen, Leslie...
- Save it, Arthur.

He's late.

He's minutes late,
and I've got work to do.

Good morning,
ladies and gentlemen.

Oh, morning, B.K.

Good morning, Uncle Bruce.

Ed, are you interested
in the company

or your own personal ambitions?

The company.

Don't want to take my place,
be president of Vero Plastics?

I'm satisfied
doing what I'm doing.

We're going ahead
with the annual conference

at the lodge as planned.

I've asked our general manager
Phil Jenks

to open up the lodge.

New B.K. Doran's concept
of business as usual:

drinking, fishing, swimming,

barbecuing our way
to bankruptcy.

Uh, B.K,, the,
the South American plant--

we've a lot of work to do
before I go.

Some of the office records
are already crated.

The rest are ready for crating.

Phil will have everything
at the lodge.

Getting you and the records

ready to go will be
the first order of business.

And the second?

If you can sit on your sarcasm
long enough to listen,

the second order of business
will be the drafting

of a hew set
of operational bylaws.

A complete reorganization
of the company

to be ready
for stockholder approval

at the annual meeting.

Reorganization, huh?

A delegation
of executive authority.

My successor will need it.

Successor, B.K.?

At the annual meeting
I will make an announcement

concerning my resignation
as president of the company.

SUTTON:
But, Uncle Bruce...

Now, if you'll excuse me,
I have work to do.

Arthur, I'd like to talk
to you for a moment.

(door closes)

(chuckles)

I'm glad you asked me to stay,
Uncle Bruce.

I got a letter today,

and you'll never guess
from whom.

You remember that place
five years ago on the Riviera?

Arthur...

That place we rented
next to the two widows.

Arthur.

Well, one of them wrote
and asked...

Will you shut your silly,
fatuous mouth?

Sorry, Uncle Bruce.

(sighs)
Arthur, I need an assignment

of voting rights from you to me

of your mother's stock
in the company.

Just a minute,
that doesn't make any sense.

If you do what you said,
well, there won't be any fight.

You won't need the voting rights
at the meeting.

I haven't time to draw pictures
for you, Arthur.

I need that assignment.

Uncle Bruce, I-l...

If you force me, I can contact
my sister in France,

have her revoke
your voting rights,

and have them assigned to me.

Don't do that, Uncle Bruce.

Before we leave the lodge
at the end of the week,

I want that assignment.

I wonder what Ed's going to say
when he finds out

-you don't intend to resign.
-(door opens)

All the records, forms,
and papers crated and uncrated

will be trucked
up to the lodge this afternoon.

Same trucks will pick 'em up
in two and a half weeks,

load them aboard ship
at San Pedro

for shipment to South America.

I've booked passage
on the same ship for myself,

just to be sure.

I'll be waiting
when Walter flies down.

Time-wise, we're cutting it
pretty fine, BX.,

but it'll work.

Good, Phil, and the lodge?

Crew's already left to clean
and staff it.

They'll be ready
to serve lunch tomorrow, noon.

The outside accountants,
have they finished yet?

It's all right,
he might as well know.

No, they're not finished yet.

But do they know?
Are they sure yet?

Not a shadow of a doubt, B.K.

Your son-in-law Ed Lewis

has been embezzling
from the company.

Perry, there's no question
about it: my father-in-law

B.K. Doran
is an embezzler, a thief.

You're sure, Ed?

I can understand when
he went off in the deep end

after his wife died,
and I can appreciate

this preoccupation he has with
this lady lawyer friend of his,

but I can't let him
rob the company blind

and make crossword puzzles
out of our business ledgers.

You don't believe
he means to resign?

No, not for a minute.

Will the books show that
he just up and stole the money?

Oh, it's not
as simple as all that.

B.K. initials a memo
and then, alakazam,

thousands yo-yo
from one department to another

until they disappear.

Look, I've tried
to cover for him,

I've even juggled
some of the books myself,

but you get an outsider in there
to audit those books,

and B.K. is going
to find himself in jail.

You fiddle with those books, and
you'll both end up behind bars.

For Gertrude's sake, that's why
I can't let it happen to him.

That's why I must have
your help, Perry.

You've got to get him
to make restitution

and to get out of this company.

We'll need more than suspicions.

We'll need documentary proof
to confront him with.

And it had better be soon.

- Very soon, Ed.
- Yeah.

Well, maybe tomorrow
or the next day at the latest.

Now, there's a cabin
down the road from the lodge.

I've arranged to rent it if...

you can spare a few days
away from the office.

He not only can but should.

A few days of rest, some fishing
would do him a world of good.

Do us both
a world of good, Perry.

All right, Ed.

We'll be there.

Reception room here,
office right behind it.

Phil knows what I want
for the production line.

Over here by the steam plant...

BX.
Yes, Phil?

That, uh, that report.

I just got a call;
they're finished.

Good. Drive into town
and get it, will you?

I want it here tonight.

Oh, and something else, Phil.

Vera, make out an authorization
to the bank, will you?

In our vault,
a large manila envelope--

it's marked "negotiable bonds"--
bring it back here.

JENKS:
Right.

The, uh, report Phil mentioned--

something else
to go down to South America?

No, no, nothing like that.

Just having our books audited
by an outside firm.

(ducks quacking)

It's a small world,
isn't it, Mr. Mason?

If you say so.

I don't believe I know you.

Well, that is
strictly your fault.

My name is Paul Drake.

Oh, Mr. Mason's
favorite private detective.

Have I blundered into some

deep, dark mystery?

(chuckles) The only mystery
I know of at the moment

is the identity of
the very attractive young lady

-standing there watching us.
- Oh, I forgot, I'm sorry.

I'm Leslie Ross.

You lectured
to a class in criminal law

at the University
of San Fernando Valley.

I was in the class.

I trust my lecture
didn't impede your legal career.

No, no, I graduated,
passed the bar exam,

and got my license, thank you.

If it's a hunting and fishing
license, I'm in season.

A famous criminal lawyer
and a famous private detective,

practically close enough
to reach out and touch.

How very nice.

And convenient.

Ed, there are going to be
two outsiders for dinner

-at the lodge tonight.
- Oh?

Sylvia told me that Leslie
ran into them down at the lake.

Perry Mason

and Paul Drake.

I find it very interesting.

Mason's an old friend
of yours, isn't he?

Yes, he is.

They must have rented
the cabin down the road.

Ed...

why do you need
a lawyer and a detective?

(vehicle approaching)

(car door opening)

Ed...

Ed, I love you.

Oh, please, don't lock me out.

If you're in some kind
of trouble, let me help you.

- Trouble?
-(sighs)

All right.

The accountant's audit
that Phil brought--

is that why the lawyer's here,

because of what
the audit says about you?

Now, look, baby,
we've talked about this before.

I know what I'm doing.

Now, please
don't ask any questions.

Just leave the whole thing alone
for a couple of days.

Please!

Why?

Just tell me why.

Why, Ed?

♪♪

(splash)

(woman screaming in distance)

(gasping breaths)

(knocking)

- Morning, Andy.
- Paul.

Oh. Cup of coffee
for Andy, Paul.

You look like you've
had a long night, Andy.

Mm-hmm, after you and Paul left,
yes, it was a long, long night.

And it's only
the beginning, Perry.

The bruise is from a struggle,

but B.K. Doran was k*lled
by being stabbed in the back.

Find a w*apon?

Nope, no sign of a w*apon
or of the briefcase.

- Went over the area with
a fine-tooth comb. -Briefcase?

A real grab bag bonanza,

according to the secretary
and general manager.

Item one:
$ , worth of unregistered,

negotiable bearer bonds
belonging to the company.

Item two, which had nothing to
do with the $ , in bonds:

an auditor's report
proving there is an embezzler

in the company.

Perry, are you representing

anybody in that company?

Whom did you have in mind?

The man who rented
this cabin for you.

You didn't waste much time,
Andy, did you?

No, not after I found out

he's the one that audit named
as the embezzler.

Well, thanks for the coffee.

It hit the spot.

Oh, by the way, Perry,

if you get any mail
while you're up here

and happen to need a long,
sharp letter opener,

don't bother
to ask Ed Lewis for one.

It seems his is lost.

Paul.

♪♪

Hi.

- Oh, it's you.
- Well, I waited till you were

finished talking
with Lieutenant Anderson,

and when you wandered off
and didn't come straight back,

I thought I'd better
come looking for you.

Well, I'd be genuinely touched
if it weren't so obvious

that, uh, well,
you were less interested in me

and more interested
in what the lieutenant and I

were talking about.

What were you talking about?

There's no secret about it,
Mr. Private Detective.

I told the lieutenant
there was no doubt

but that Ed Lewis
had m*rder*d B.K. Doran.

Didn't they teach you
in law school

that it's the judge and jury
who decide a man's guilt?

A keyhole peeper
with a childlike faith

in the noble traditions
of the law.

Really, Mr. Drake,
you disappoint me.

That's too bad.

Maybe I've worked too long
with a real lawyer,

a man who has a great respect
for the ideas of justice.

Why don't you get off
your moral high horse?

When I found B.K., do you know
why I went to the cabin?

Who's rendering verdicts now?

Oh, don't take it
to heart, Mr. Drake.

Men who never make mistakes
are so stuffy.

B.K. asked me
to come to the cabin

to be present
as the company attorney

-when he confronted Ed Lewis.
- Confronted him?

To give him the choice--
of making restitution

of the $ , he embezzled
or going to jail.

- Lieutenant Anderson?
- Yes, Mr. Sutton?

One of your men,
despite my vehement objections,

is searching through my luggage

-piece by piece.
- We're looking

for a m*rder w*apon
and a missing briefcase.

Everybody's luggage
is being searched, Mr. Sutton.

Well, I don't like it.

I don't imagine
the m*rder*d man did either.

Lieutenant, are you
finished with me now?

I'm afraid not.

Well, I haven't seen my wife
since all this happened. I...

Oh, she's fine, Mr. Lewis.

The Cords took her home
and are staying with her.

As soon as I check something
with Mr. Sutton,

I'd like you
to come downtown with me.

Uh, just routine.

Some questions.

All right, Mr. Sutton.

Do we need to talk anymore
before I go downtown with you?

No, Perry.

Not now, maybe later.

(door closes)

MASON:
Mr. Jenks.

May I detain you
just long enough

to ask a question or two
of you and Miss Hillman?

Well, now, look,
Vera's been through

enough of a ringer already--
what more is there to ask?

Exactly how much

did those missing bonds total,
Miss Hillman?

$ , .

Did the company usually keep
that large an amount

in bonds on hand?

No.

Actually, Mr. Doran converted
other assets into those bonds.

It was for a transaction
the company was making.

Then there really wasn't
any embezzlement, was there?

Just a confusion
in the auditor's report

about those bonds.

The embezzlement
was separate and apart.

Had nothing to do
with those bonds.

What did it have to do with?

$ , in cash

embezzled by Ed Lewis.

You sure you won't have a drink?

- No, thanks.
- Well, I sure hope it works.

- Hope what works?
- Uh, Sylvia's giving Gertrude

the medication the doctor left
to, to quiet her.

I've, uh, I've never seen Gert
so torn up before.

Poor girl.

Now, I sure hope this marriage
isn't headed for the rocks, too.

One of them was married before?

Gert.

A long time ago.

Divorced.

Ed was just
a struggling young accountant

when he met her and married her.

Good man, Ed. Good for her
and good for the company.

(quiet chuckle) With men
like Ed and you available,

do you think Arthur Sutton will
be given the company to run?

- Well...
- SYLVIA: With B.K. dead, yes.

If B.K. were alive,

Walter would have been elected
president at the meeting.

You sound sure of that.

I saw B.K. late that afternoon.

He swore he was going to resign

just as soon as he'd finished
something he was working on.

- Did he say what?
- No.

Did he say anything
about Ed Lewis?

He was going to send Vera over

to tell Ed he wanted
to see him before dinner.

He had a briefcase on his desk.

B.K. patted the briefcase
and laughed

and said he'd soon have nothing
to worry about from Ed.

Well, whatever happened,
whatever anyone says,

I just can't believe
Ed Lewis k*lled B.K. Doran.

MASON: Is Mrs. Lewis alone
in her room?

Yes, but I'm afraid she's
in no condition to see anyone.

Excuse me.

(knocking)

Who is it?

Perry Mason.
May I come in, please?

Perry, where's Ed?

I've got to talk to him
right away.

He's still
at police headquarters.

Paul's there waiting.

Oh.

W-Well, then,
I'll have to talk to you.

Come in, please.

Sylvia said you were too upset
to talk to anyone.

Perry, don't you see,
I couldn't talk to the police

until I talked to Ed or to you?

I was afraid they'd ask me
what I saw.

What did you see?

I, uh...

I saw Ed coming
out of my father's cabin,

and he had the letter opener
in his hand.

His own letter opener.

And I saw him run
down to the lake

and throw the letter opener
in the water

and then wash his hands.

Perry, he k*lled my father.

(door opens)

I was just about to knock.

There's a call for you.

A Mr. Paul Drake.

He said it was urgent.

Paul, what is it?

The fool, the stupid fool.

All right, Paul, we'd better get
out there as fast as we can.

♪♪

♪♪

(panting)

(groans)

ANDERSON: This what
you're looking for, Mr. Lewis?

I'm afraid that's it, Mr. Lewis.

Any word from Paul?

Mm-hmm, he's on his way.

Perry, with the Ed Lewis hearing
first thing in the morning,

do you plan to get yourself
any sleep or, uh,

are you just going
to work all night?

You're really worried
about this case, aren't you?

The first man
who invents a -hour day

is gonna get himself a fortune.

You asked for a second
three-day continuance,

and Burger turned you down.

Why did you ask?

What could you do
with more time?

Convince the m*rder*r
that he didn't have any time.

Let the m*rder*r prove
what I know.

But can't prove yourself?

(knocking)

You look like you just lost
your best friend.

Well, Perry may have just lost
his latest client.

I don't know how,
but Burger found out

that Gertrude Lewis saw
her husband come out

of B.K.'s cabin
with that letter opener

and toss it in the lake.

Fortunately a wife can't testify
against her husband.

DRAKE: Well, here's a full
report on Ed and Gertrude Lewis.

Copies of her divorce
from her first husband

and a record of her
subsequent marriage to Lewis.

What's wrong, Paul?

She was married two days
before her divorce became final.

Gertrude and Ed Lewis
are not legally man and wife.

- And she can testify.
- If Burger finds out about this,

subpoenas her,
forces her to tell her story...

Let's see
that full report, Paul.

Paul, have you still

got a contact inside
the district attorney's office?

Certainly.
What do you want?

Well, get the information
about the void marriage

to your contact-- I want Burger
to have it in the morning.

No sooner than a half hour
before he goes to court.

- What?
- This may be

my chance to get
the time I need.

I want Burger
to know about this,

but not to know that
the information came from us

or that we know.

(knocking)

Come in, Perry.

BURGER:
Good morning.

Morning, Hamilton, Judge Penner.

Perry, I asked for this meeting.

I've issued a subpoena
to Gertrude Lewis.

Well, I'm sure she expected to
attend without being subpoenaed.

Yes, but I intend to call her as
a witness against Edward Lewis.

A wife is not a competent
witness against her husband

except with the consent of both.

If the defendant invokes
the rule of incompetency,

then the defendant assumes
the burden of establishing

the existence
of a marital relationship.

Hamilton, are you saying

that Mr. and Mrs. Lewis
are not married?

Despite the date
a divorce decree

is supposed to be final,
Your Honor,

in Illinois it actually
and legally isn't final

until an attorney
presents the decree

to the judge and he signs it.

So if an attorney
is a day or two late

getting the decree signed,

the supposed
and actual dates may differ.

I'm aware of that.

Some information came
to my attention this morning.

I had only time to call Chicago.

I found out that
Edward and Gertrude Lewis

were married on July .

Her divorce decree
from her first husband

was signed by the judge
on July ,

two days after she
and the defendant were married.

Under the laws
of the state of Illinois,

a marriage attempted
while one of the parties

has a spouse living
is bigamous and void.

Technically, at least,
Gertrude Lewis was a bigamist

for two days
and isn't married now.

She'll have to testify.

If not at the hearing,
then at the trial.

Judge Penner,
Edward and Gertrude Lewis

did not come to California
from Illinois

immediately after
they were married.

I happen to know they lived
for a few years in Wyoming,

Utah, Colorado,

- Nebraska...
- Colorado, Perry?

Why, yes.

Colorado, Judge Penner.

Colorado is one of the states

that recognizes
common-law marriage.

A valid common-law marriage
in Colorado-- if it was--

is recognized as
a valid marriage in California.

She would be his wife;
she could not testify.

But, but just
living together in Colorado

wouldn't create
a common-law marriage.

No, not unless there was
provable habit and repute.

Purchase and sale
of property or chattels

as husband, wife.

Your Honor, if you'll grant me
just a three-day continuance,

I'll get the proof of this
matter one way or the other.

Well, we always
like to cooperate

with the district
attorney's office.

Defense offers no objection.

Fine, this hearing
is postponed for three days.

Thank you, Your Honor.

And thank you, Hamilton.

What?

Thank you.

Trust me, Ed,
I know what I'm doing.

I want you to tell
the district attorney

just what you've told me.

What happened when you walked
into B.K.'s cabin?

He was sitting in the shadows
behind his desk.

He didn't answer,
so I went around,

touched him on the shoulder.

He started to fall.

I reached for him.

Caught hold of the letter opener
in his back.

He was dead...

and there I was,
standing behind him

with a m*rder w*apon in my hand.

I ran like a frightened kid.

But you weren't frightened
for yourself, were you, Ed?

The truth now, Ed.

The whole truth now.

I threw that
letter opener away...

because I was rattled enough
and stupid enough

at that moment to think that...

my wife had fought with and...
k*lled her father.

MASON: What made you think that
at that particular moment?

Well, you asked for some
evidence on what B.K. was doing.

I had a Photostat made of
one of the pages in the ledger.

I was checking the writings
of one of the entries

with my magnifying glass,

which is on the other end
of the letter opener,

when Gertrude
came in and saw me.

You didn't take that
letter opener in with you

when you went to see Doran?

No, I left it and the Photostat

in the writing desk in my cabin.

I thought about it later

when I was about to go
into B.K.'s cabin,

so I went back to get it,
but the Photostat was gone.

And so was the letter opener?

Well, I figured that
Gertrude had spotted it,

used the glass to check it...

Then run to confront her father,
the letter opener in one hand,

proof of her
father's embezzlement

-in the other hand.
- At that moment...

that's all I could think.

MASON:
Do you still think your wife

might have k*lled her father?

No, I don't and I never did.

I was panicky, in shock,
that one crazy day,

but I give you my solemn oath--

my wife is incapable
of murdering anybody.

She didn't k*ll her father

and she didn't touch
that letter opener.

When I saw Ed's notes
to Mr. Mason on the Photostat

and when I realized
that he was preparing proof

that my father was a thief,

I just ran to my father.

With the Photostat
and the letter opener?

Yes.

He was furious.

He tore up the Photostat
and he threw it on the fire.

And then he walked
over to his desk...

and he opened a briefcase

and he took out
an auditor's report,

which he said proved
that my husband was a thief

and not my father.

Well, did you struggle with him?

I mean, did you try
to get the Photostat

or the... auditor's report
away from him?

No.

But when he calmed down,
so did I.

I went to Sylvia.

I stayed there for a while.

Then I went to my cabin
to change for dinner.

And you left that letter opener
in your father's cabin?

- Yes, on his desk.
- MASON: Gertrude,

you said
your father calmed down.

Had he changed his mind then
about your husband?

I don't know, Perry.

But he was puzzled.

Dad was so sure that Ed
was an embezzler,

and Ed was so sure
that Dad was an embezzler.

Father said that
it just didn't make sense.

Hamilton.

Hamilton, the last question
I asked Ed Lewis

was whether that briefcase
was still on B.K. Doran's desk

when he ran out to throw
that letter opener in the lake.

Do you remember his answer?

Yes, he said it was. Why?

Andy found the letter opener.

Has he found the briefcase?

No, not a trace of it.

Wait a minute.

Today's continuance.

You must have fed me
that information

about the void marriage.

You deliberately maneuvered me
into asking for a delay. Why?

Motive.

If Lewis k*lled
his father-in-law,

the briefcase and the report
in it had to be the reason.

He wouldn't leave
the briefcase there.

All right.

So what?

Three days or days,

it isn't gonna make
any difference to you

unless you know who took
the briefcase and where it is.

That's just it, I do.

Hamilton, I need your help.

All right, Perry,
I'll go along with you.

We already canceled
shipping these crates

and started
searching through them

when Mr. Mason convinced us
you'd show up

and save us the trouble.

But you thought those crates

were being shipped out tomorrow.

You had to get to them tonight,
didn't you, Arthur?

All right, you might as well
give me the briefcase.

Hamilton, you'd better open
that briefcase now

with all of us as witnesses.

You knew?

If I was right,

it had to be.

Mr. Sutton,

here are the negotiable bonds
you stole.

Just pieces of...

cut-up newspaper.

(laughs)

It's paper.

Perry,

I think now I need your help.

Don't you understand, I was
in trouble, serious trouble?

The stock, my mother's stock--
I'd pawned it.

I didn't have it.

I didn't have the voting rights
to turn over to Uncle Bruce,

my mother, to anybody.

Pawned the stock? Why?

Vice president in charge
of production.

What a laugh.

I was a glorified office boy,
that's all.

B.K. was a great one
for handing out titles.

I invested in new business.

Only capital I could
lay my hands on

was by pawning Mother's stock.

And the business...

(clicks tongue)

...collapsed.

So when B.K. pressured you
for that stock,

your back was to the wall?

I was on my way to tell
Uncle Bruce the truth.

I saw Ed come out,

holding that letter opener.

I saw Gertrude follow him
to the lake.

I, I ran into the cabin,

and there he was...

B.K.,

dead.

And there was that briefcase,

the briefcase you thought
contained a fortune

in negotiable bonds.

The storeroom, with some
of the crates still open,

was in the back of B.K.'s cabin.

I grabbed the briefcase,

shoved it in one
of the open crates,

and nailed the crate closed.

I didn't k*ll him, Mr. Mason,
I swear it.

And I didn't embezzle so much
as one penny from the company.

B.K. Doran gave years
of his life

to the company.

years,

and they all turned on him.

All of them
tried to push him out.

He had a right to fight back
any way he could.

With those negotiable bonds

and a man named Antonio Orlando?

He was afraid they'd stop him

and so he made us swear
to keep it secret.

Keep secret the fact that he was
dealing with Antonio Orlando

to buy controlling interest
in a mine producing minerals

the company
was desperately short of?

That was only part of it.

The mine alone wasn't enough.

The government
down there wouldn't grant

any new export licenses.

So B.K. Doran had to first buy
an obsolete,

presumably worthless plant,

but a plant that already had
an existing export license.

He knew it was a dangerous
gamble, Mr. Mason.

But don't you see,
they gave him no choice.

And he took that chance.

It was a gamble
to revitalize the company.

Or break it.

Yes.

That's why
we had to keep it secret.

And the negotiable bonds,

they were to pay for this,
uh, this mine?

HILLMAN:
Yes.

What was the exact total
of those bonds?

$ , .

Sure, I knew about the
South American deal, I had to.

I was going down there
with Walter Cord

to set up the export end of it.

And Walter Cord?

JENKS: There was no question
but what Walter could have

the plant operating
profitably within the year.

The $ ,

converted into bonds

to pay for that
South American plant,

how did that money
show up in the books?

It didn't.

B.K., in his own bullheaded way,

played musical chairs
with that money

from department to department

till it just didn't
show up on the books at all.

And the outside auditors,
or Edward Lewis,

examining those books,
might assume that the money

had been embezzled?

Oh, it was missing,
but there was nothing

to show it had been embezzled.

That was something else,

something entirely different.

Different? How?

Entries had deliberately
been tampered with.

And $ , had obviously
been stolen from the company.

Obviously?

That's right, Mr. Mason.

Obviously.

Ed Lewis had tampered
with those books--

even a child could see that--
so, obviously,

Ed Lewis embezzled that $ , .

Yes, B.K. Doran told me

that his son-in-law
was an embezzler.

Just told you?

No, as a matter of fact,
he opened that briefcase

you keep referring to
and let me read the report.

So you were able to read
for yourself

the facts as the auditors
had found them?

Particularly the fact
that Edward Lewis

was an embezzler, yes.

That fact

and the fact that $ ,

was unaccounted for.

That's right.

Of course you knew
nothing at all

about the South American deal.

Not a thing.

And how were you able
the next morning

to tell Paul Drake that $ ,
had been embezzled?

Why...

Not knowing about the $ ,
converted to bonds?

How did you know

the exact amount
that had been embezzled?

Well, I, I...

Unless you, Miss Ross,

you knowing of the bonds
because you set up

the South American deal,

and because you hoped
to marry B.K.

after alienating him
from his daughter

and her husband,

unless you embezzled
that amount yourself

and used Ed Lewis' tampering
with the books to frame him.

No.

No. Why...

why Eddie Lewis told me
that night.

He told me himself.

How could Ed Lewis
tell you $ ,

had been embezzled?

He didn't know
about the bonds either.

Well, uh, it was when
I-I went to tell him that,

that B.K. wanted to see us,

that, that B.K. had sent me to

tell him that he wanted to talk
to both of us before dinner.

Now, that's a lie.

Mr. Lewis.

She didn't tell me
to see B.K,, it was...

Mr. Lewis.

ROSS:
Don't listen to him.

He's lying.

When I told him
about the report,

he admitted stealing
the $ , .

He admitted it.

But that's why he k*lled BX.,

don't you see?

I'm afraid she's not telling
the truth, Mr. Mason.

B.K. asked me to tell Ed Lewis
he wanted to see him.

And it was I who went
to the cabin and told him.

Thank you, Miss Hillman.

Oh, by the way...

it was you, wasn't it,
who stole the $ ,

worth of bonds
from the bank vault?

Stole them weeks
before Phil Jenks

was sent to the vault
to get them?

What?

You not only had the authority
to authorize

others to go
into the company vault,

as you authorized Phil Jenks,

but you could enter
the vault yourself

anytime you wanted.

But I didn't.

But you did.

The district attorney
and the police

have investigated, Miss Hillman.

They have a record of each
and every visit to the vault

where those bonds were kept.

Oh, no.

$ , worth of unregistered,
negotiable bearer bonds.

You stole them bond by bond
from the vault and hid them,

hid them in an already sealed
crate of records

to be shipped to South America.

That's a lie.

Is it?

Mr. Burger.

This was found last night,
Miss Hillman.

Latent fingerprints
on the outside

were identified as yours.

And latent fingerprints
on the bonds inside

were also identified as yours.

Oh, please.

Please, Mr. Mason...

Why?

Was it because you hoped
to marry B.K.?

Because, of all the women,
there was one

you couldn't cope with?

It was Leslie Ross
who made you realize

the years of waiting
had been wasted.

The South American deal
was more than a gamble,

it was B.K.'s last hope
to retain control

of Vero Plastic.

Getting even was easy,
wasn't it?

All you had to do
was steal those bonds.

Why would I put them in crates?

I wasn't going to South America.

No, but your accomplice was.

He would recover the bonds

and you would join him later.

Wasn't that the plan,
Phil Jenks?

From the first day I met him,
he used me.

Just like he used everybody
and everything he touched...

for his own selfish needs.

Oh, it was all planned
so carefully.

The only thing we didn't know
was that the payoff to Orlando

would be in this country
at the lodge.

We nearly died when he sent me
for the bonds.

We thought it'd be weeks
before he'd need them.

Weeks.

You gave him the empty envelope,

knowing it was
a matter maybe of hours

before he discovered
the bonds were gone.

And that you and Vera
were the only ones

who could have taken them.

Who actually stabbed him? Vera?

No.

I didn't know
he was going to k*ll him.

He stabbed him.

We, we fought.
...

I just picked up
the letter opener from the desk

and I, I k*lled him.

Heard Lewis come in,
I started to run out the back,

and I remembered the briefcase.

The briefcase
with the empty bond envelope?

You couldn't leave that?

Sutton.

(chuckles)

Arthur Sutton.

I was hiding behind the crates
when he came in

and hid the briefcase.

He was helping me, the fool.

The crazy fool.

Doing all that for nothing.

Just like you and Vera.

For nothing.

You were one of the cofounders
of the company, Mr. Cord,

and you are
a senior vice president.

Oh, I'm sure the stockholders
and the board,

what's left of it,
will make the gesture.

You know, Sylvia may be amazed
to learn that

I can make a decision.

Then you plan to nominate
Ed Lewis

as president of the company?

Yes, Miss Street,
he's earned the position

and he'll get it.

Actually, Mr. Mason,
what I came in to ask

is whether or not
you would be interested

in representing the company,
assuming, of course, that...

well, as a matter of fact,
right now

I don't know whether
Leslie Ross is or isn't

still the company attorney.

Miss Ross indicated
to Judge Penner

she will plead guilty
to embezzlement and perjury.

Which means
that your sexy solicitor

faces a ten-year term in prison.

And disbarment.

They'll take away her license
to practice law.

She'll never miss it.

With her face and figure
she's got a built-in license

to practice black magic
if she wants to.

How you gonna stop her?

Oh, Proverbs... , I believe.

What's that?

"My son,

"if sinners entice thee,

consent thou not.”

(theme song playing)